Texas House OKs bill to expel students who hack into computers

Texas House passes bill to expel students who hack into computers

Updated 5:30 am, Friday, May 6, 2011

A proposed state law passed by the House would allow school districts to expel students who hack into school computer systems.

House Bill 1224, drafted by Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, now will be taken up for consideration by the Senate after its approval by the House on Wednesday.

Reynolds initiated the bill as a result of an incident three years ago in the Fort Bend Independent School District involving four high school students who were accused of breaking into the district's computer network to change grades and attendance records. Investigators estimated the financial loss to the district at $191,400. The four students were indicted on felony charges.

Paresa has pleaded guilty while trials of the other three are pending.

Breach of computer security is an offense ranging in severity from a class B misdemeanor to a first-degree felony, depending on the amount of the loss. State law says if the loss is between $100,000 and $200,000, the crime is a second-degree felony.

A second-degree felony carries a penalty of two to 20 years in prison.

"I was shocked to learn that current law does not allow public schools to expel a student who has breached computer systems of the school district and knowingly alters, damages or deletes school district information," said Reynolds. "The students who are hacking computer systems are really smart, and I believe this will serve as a strong deterrent. When students hack into a district's computer system and commit a criminal act as they did at Fort Bend ISD, school districts need to have an option to expel students."